When applying for a postdoc position, it makes sense to write something like this in the cover letter:
Dear Professor NAME. I am writing to apply for POSITION in your lab
What I'm stuck on, is that a cover letter is a formal letter, so should be written in a formal register. However, the word "lab" is an abbreviation and so inherently informal, which makes it seem wrong. On the other hand "laboratory" sounds even more wrong because no-one says "at my laboratory" in speech.
Is the word "lab" appropriate in this context?
