Dr. Cavanaugh grew up in Longmont, Colorado.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and his Medical Degree at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois. He completed his residency in Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. After serving as a Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for one year, he moved back to Colorado to complete two fellowships:  Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver and Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Medical & Research Center.    He is board certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, and Sleep Medicine.

Before enthusiastically returning to Minnesota to join Children's Respiratory and Critical Care Specialists, Dr. Cavanaugh was an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and the Associate Director of The Children's Hospital Sleep Center at The Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado.  He had been working with the State of Colorado Department of Health to develop a simple model that would allow primary health care providers address the risks of Second Hand Smoke exposure with their patients in an effective, quick and non-judgmental way.  His interests include educating providers and families on the importance of sleep, treating sleep disorders in individuals with chronic illness including but not limited to neuromuscular disease and cystic fibrosis, helping asthmatics enjoy life without limitations, and working with medical students and residents.

Dr. Cavanaugh and his wife Maggie, a Minnesota native, currently live in Shoreview with their three young children, who have voted him "Best Dad" 5 years straight.