He coined the term ecoepidemiology for a discipline combining concepts of ecology and epidemiology to understand parasite transmission patterns and processes.

[1] Jean-Antoine Rioux worked on several parasitological diseases, including malaria, plague, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis.

He led teams in the field in France (Camargue, Languedoc, Roussillon, Cévennes, Corsica) and various countries including Iran, Chad, Tunisia, and Morocco.

The genus Riouxgolvania Bain & Brunhes, 1968 (Nematoda, Muspiceidae) honours both Jean-Antoine Rioux and Yves-Jean Golvan, two French parasitologists.

His collection includes more than 130,000 specimens coming from 10 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, Sudan,and Republic of Congo.