A researcher wanted to study the effects of a certain chemical on cell growth. The chemical was to be applied at two different doses, high and low, to two different cell types, strain A and strain B. Each combination of dose and cell type was to be replicated ten times. To have consistency from one replicate to the next, the researcher decided to use four lab technicians. One technician would be assigned the high dose with strain A. A second would be assigned the low dose with strain A. A third would be assigned the high dose with strain B. A fourth would be assigned the low dose with strain B. The assignment of lab technician to the replicates for a combination of dose and cell type would be randomized. A statistician told the researcher that the design could be improved by controlling confounding variables. Which of the following is potentially a confounding variable in this study?