Researcher originally assisting lab in some way (7)
I believe the answer is:
analyst
'researcher' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'assisting lab in some way' is the wordplay.
'assisting lab' becomes 'al' (this could be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'some' becomes 'any' (similar in meaning).
'way' becomes 'st' (abbreviation for street).
'al' inserted into 'any' is 'analy'.
'analy'+'st'='ANALYST'
'originally' is the link.
This may not be correct. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for analyst that I've seen before include "Dissector" , "One with detailed understanding (of psyche or systems)" , "Dealer with systems - shrink!" , "Researcher; assayer" , "Person who interprets system structures" .)