research laboratory vs lab

research laboratory and lab both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
research laboratory	Yes	No	No	No
lab	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, research laboratory and lab are synonyms defined as:

research laboratory and lab: a workplace for the conduct of scientific research

Other synonyms of research laboratory include laboratory, research lab, science lab, science laboratory.

research laboratory (noun)	lab (noun)
a workplace for the conduct of scientific research	a workplace for the conduct of scientific research