Clinical Research not doing anything

I’m a freshman at a T20 university and was lucky enough to get into a clinical research group early on. The lab is fairly large — 5 undergrads plus 4 grad students/research assistants — and historically they’ve published a lot over the past few years. The PI and senior members have a strong track record, which is one of the reasons I was so excited to join.

But ever since I started at the beginning of the year, the lab has slowed down a lot because of funding issues. Most of the active projects haven’t been moving forward, and as an undergrad, I’ve mostly been given small, repetitive tasks that feel like busy work. I haven’t been able to contribute to anything meaningful, and I’m starting to worry that I’m not building any real research skills or making progress toward having a future project or publication.

I’m torn about what to do next. Should I start looking for a different research group that’s more active? Should I try to stay in this lab and pick up another one if possible? Or is it better to stick things out here with the hope that funding comes through and the lab ramps back up again?