Mentioning research done for a lab that doesn't exist yet

[Fraen]

I was part of an internship program to start founding research for projects in a laboratory that is still being developed. The last time I checked the status of the lab, it turns out that its future is currently in question. Will this affect how a person reading my personal statement views my research for it?

[fuzzylogician]

It shouldnt matter much if you talk about your position, what you learned there, and your accomplishments. The most important is having the experience. Only second to that is having a publication out of the experience, and the fact that the lab is not yet set up (and might not be) matters even less, especially if you don't play that part up. Talk about your contribution to the projects, not to setting up the lab -- even if it falls through, experience is still experience.