A native of Chicago, Dr. Canavan attended Cornell University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology & Society with Distinction in All Subjects. During her studies, she rowed with the crew team and ran the New York City and Boston marathons. She then moved to New York City to attend the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. During medical school, she launched a mentorship program for Cornell's women in medicine and helped develop a wilderness orientation program for entering medical students. She was named a B.H. Kean Class of 1964 Fellow, and she traveled to Nepal to develop marketing materials for a new women's clinic designed to build Nepali women's health literacy skills. At graduation, she was awarded the George Reader Prize in Public Health.

Dr. Canavan then moved to New Haven and successfully completed her internship and residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale University School of Medicine. During her training, she was selected to be a Johnson & Johnson Physician Scholar, and she cared for Alaskan Natives at a tribally-owned hospital in Anchorage. She also participated in a physician Writer's Workshop, and has published her work. She was honored to be named a Chief medical resident, and she dedicated an additional year to teaching and promoting excellence in Yale's medical residency program.

Dr. Canavan then joined Yale's Section of Digestive Diseases as a clinical fellow. During her training, she and a colleague had the opportunity to present a poster at the American College of Gastroenterology national meeting. She devoted her final year of training to advanced endoscopic procedures and managing diseases of the pancreas and biliary tract.

Dr. Canavan's special interests include women's issues in gastroenterology, colorectal cancer prevention and treatment, disorders of the gallbladder and biliary tract, and celiac disease.

Dr. Canavan is a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the American Gastroenterology Association, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

She is affiliated with Yale-New Haven Hospital, the Hospital of St. Raphael, and Milford Hospital. Dr. Canavan cares for patients in the Guilford office.